Form Your Own Design Pattern Study Group(14 tags)Like most complex subjects, design patterns are best learned over a period of time, not in a few sittings. Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Freeman, coauthors of Head First Design Patterns, suggest one way to ease the learning curve (and have some fun along the way): form a study group, using their book. If you're ready to get your engineering team together, the Freemans get you started in this article with a plan to follow and chapter-by-chapter questions to help generate discussion.

J2EE Design Patterns(7 tags)Design patterns are a way of bringing clarity to a system architecture; they allow for the possibility of better systems being built. This article covers how to identify and use design patterns in J2EE apps, specifically for the presentation layer.

Understanding MVC in PHP(7 tags)The most popular "proper" way to build a web application seems to be to use the Model-View-Controller design pattern. While it sounds complex, the concepts are sound and the ease of development it provides are compelling. Joe Stump shows how MVC can work in PHP by walking through working, example code.

Building a PHP Front Controller(4 tags)It's a rare web app that doesn't span multiple pages. It's also rare that such an app doesn't have some common behavior. The Front Controller design pattern can simplify processing, behavior, and the user experience. Ethan McCallum explains how to use this in your applications.

Migrating to Page Controllers(2 tags)Simple web apps can start simple, but when they grow more complex, they often need pruning and refactoring to be maintainable. The Page Controller design pattern can help separate concerns such as templates and logic. Ethan McCallum demonstrates this language-neutral technique with PHP.